GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. 



scenes." The second reading of this bill was 

 postponed, May 28d, for six months. 



A bill was passed for the more effectual 

 suppression of the slave-trade by her Majesty's 

 subjects in India. 



A bill was passed for the regulation of com- 

 mons. It curries out the recommendations 

 which were made by the committee on that 

 subject in 1869, maintains the principle that 

 till existing rights shall be preserved, and while 

 it does not assume to prevent any legal in- 

 closures of lands taking place under it, gives 

 urban authorities a locus standi to appear 

 against all schemes for inclosure. 



A bill was passed to prevent the pollution 

 of rivers. Its principal object, as stated in the 

 preamble, is to prevent the establishment of 

 new sources of pollution. It makes provisions 

 against putting offensive matters into streams, 

 prescribes the duties of sanitary authorities 

 to afford facilities of sewerage to manufactur- 

 ing establishments, prescribes the legal pro- 

 ceedings to be taken to enforce its provisions, 

 and gives the necessary powers to local boards 

 and officers. 



The Turkish question, and the .relations of 

 England to it, occupied much attention during 

 the later weeks of the session. Parliament 

 was prorogued August 15th. In her speech 

 on this occasion, the Queen spoke of her rela- 

 tions with all foreign powers as being friendly. 

 In regard to the Eastern question she said: 

 " The efforts which, in common with other 

 powers, I have made to bring about a settle- 

 ment of the differences unfortunately existing 

 between the Porte and its Christian subjects 

 in Bosnia and Herzegovina, have hitherto been 

 unsuccessful, and the conflict begun in those 

 provinces has been extended to Servia and 

 Montenegro. Should a favorable opportunity 

 present itself, I shall be ready, in concert with 

 my allies, to offer my good offices for the pur- 

 pose of mediation between the contending 

 parties ; bearing in mind alike the duties im- 

 posed upon me by treaty obligations and those 

 which arise from considerations of humanity 

 and policy." In regard to relations with the 

 United States she said : "A difference has arisen 

 between my Government and that of the Unit- 

 ed States as to the proper construction of that 

 article of the treaty of the 9th of August, 

 1842, which relates to the mutual surrender of 

 persons accused of certain offenses. The in- 

 conveniences to both countries which would 

 follow on a cessation of the practice of extra- 

 dition are great and obvious, and I entertain 

 the hope that a new arrangement may soon be 

 arrived at by which this matter may be placed 

 on a satisfactory footing." The speech then 

 referred to the return of the Prince of Wales 

 from India ; to the assumption by the Queen of 

 the title "Empress of India ; " to the reSstab- 

 lishment of peace and order in the Malay 

 Peninsula, which was considered assured; to 

 the settlement of the controversy with the Or- 

 ange Free State with reference to the province 



of Griqua-Land. and the consequent advance in 

 establishing friendly relations with tin- South 

 African states; und to the conference on South 

 African affairs which was then sitting in Lon- 

 don. 



The Eastern question received considerable 

 discussion in Parliament during the later part 

 of the session, and engaged public attention 

 predominantly during the rest of the year, 

 after the adjournment of Parliament. The 

 news of the riot at Salonica, and the murder- 

 ing of consuls on the nth of May, had the 

 effect of strengthening the convictions of the 

 Liberal party that more effective measures 

 ought to be adopted to secure protection to the 

 Christian subjects of the Porte, and stimulated 

 them to urge that the Government should take 

 a more decided stand on this matter than it 

 had ever before assumed. A large fraction of the 

 party went so far as to advise that the Govern- 

 ment should withdraw from the position it oc- 

 cupied of affording indirect protection to" Tur- 

 key, and should join with the other powers in 

 demanding substantial reforms assured by valid 

 guarantees as the alternative of war. The Gov- 

 ernment, however, adhered to the course which 

 it bad marked out for itself, and which was 

 conformed to its traditional policy of main- 

 taining the integrity of the Turkish Empire. 

 In May the Government replied to the memo- 

 randum which had been agreed to by the con- 

 ference of the great powers assembled at Ber- 

 lin, commonly called the " Berlin note," re- 

 fusing its adhesion to it on account of one 

 point, viz., that in which the memorandum 

 suggested that the six powers unitedly should 

 have to consider "other and more efficacious 

 measures," in case, at the expiration of the 

 proposed armistice, their friendly intervention 

 should have been unnble to lead to a pacific 

 result. The Government objected to this dec- 

 laration that it contained the principle of an 

 armed intervention in the internal affairs of 

 Turkey, and a menace to the liberty and inde- 

 pendence of that empire in which Great Brit- 

 ain could not join even with the reserve of the 

 condition which stipulated that no decision 

 could be taken except by collective agreement 

 of the six powers. On the 9th of June Mr. 

 Disraeli stated, in the House of Commons, 

 that the Berlin note had not been presented 

 to the Porte, and he believed it had been with- 

 drawn, in view of the change in the head of 

 the Turkish state ; and that the refusal of the 

 British Government to give its sanction to it 

 had been received in no unfriendly spirit by 

 the powers, but rather the contrary. He 

 added that there were three points in the cur- 

 rent negotiations on which the Government 

 concurred entirely with the powers; that there 

 should be no undue pressure pnt npon the new 

 Sultan of Turkey, but that he should be given 

 time to mature measures and a policy; they 

 were nil in accord in impressing Servia with 

 the importance of temperate conduct on her 

 part ; and they had agreed in the reoognitioa 



